THE POWER OF WILL.

I had been postponing writing this blog for some time for reasons I could not understand. It wasn’t because there weren’t things to write about- life is full of interesting things, but nothing really inspired me to write. Until last night.

I was driving home from work at about 9 P.M when I saw a woman sitting by the side of the road. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she was sick. She did not beg for money- she just said that she was sick. I could sense her pride but at the same time, I could sense her desperation. It made me question why life is so unfair- why so few have so much and why so many have so little. I am ashamed to say that I questioned God but I did. I mulled over it for awhile and came to a conclusion. I was once in church when a pastor was talking about creation. He said that God created man in his own image and likeness. But when man sinned, God’s likeness left him. We are created in the same image but we have none of the likeness. If we were LIKE God, people wouldn’t be on the street, people wouldn’t suffer.

The fact of the matter, though, is that we are not like God. We are programmed to look after number one- ourselves. Let’s use Nigeria as an example. We complain that our lawmakers and elected officials are corrupt but when we know people in power, we berate them if they aren’t. There are people who are in positions to effect real change but that change, while good for the masses does not favour them as much as not changing things could. Sometimes the insanity of the situation baffles me (maybe it’s because I think I’m sane).

I was talking to my uncle the other day and asked him why we are so corrupt. He said that people in power think that they have to steal to survive. The system is so flawed that these people who are supposed to try to change said system actually make it worse because it is already so bad. Can you see how insane it is? God gave man the most rational brain of all the animals but we have managed to turn being irrational into the most rational thing. Sometimes I think that this nation is doomed. People go to church and pastors say “let’s pray for Nigeria” but prayers can only get you so far. God will use people to effect change. He will not come down to change things Himself- at least, I don’t think so. How will he do this? He will use people who have the WILL to change things.

Every time someone brings up the topic of this country, saying how bad things are, I always cite the example of Brazil. Brazil’s economy was in the gutter a dozen years ago. Poverty was rife, unemployment was the norm. But in came Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva- a man with the will to change things and today, Brazil has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. They are planning to host the World Cup and Olympics back to back. Yes, back to back. This is a country that was struggling 12 years ago. But because someone said “it’s time for things to change for the better” (which was the most RATIONAL thing) and had the will to back it up, we are seeing a different Brazil today.

Let’s not get carried away- I don’t presume to know about the world. In fact, I am quite naive when I think about it. But I believe that to truly effect change, you must be naïve to some extent. You must be able to say that things are not okay but more importantly, have the will to back those words up. Our leaders are in positions to truly make an impact on our lives but they are doing the “rational” thing and looking after themselves and their families by exploiting an already flawed system and making it worse.  We must start to be “irrational” and “insane” if we are to move forward. Sometimes, it is at the edge of insanity that we find true reason.